November is here, and so is the Marine Corps' birthday on November 10. In honor of this special day, 27 volunteers from Missouri, Kansas, and Tennessee, including members of the Evans Scholars and the Beta alpha Psi Fraternity from the University of Missouri, arrived our corporate office in Columbia, Missouri on Saturday, November 1, 2014, to participate in our final pack day of the year. Of the 27 volunteers, approximately 10 were new, and it was great to see some new faces and give them a chance to participate in a fun new experience.

Volunteers began showing up around 8am, and by 8:30, the day was ready to begin. This time around, 500 care packages were packed and sent. 300 birthday packages went to Marines, each of which contained two birthday cards, a cupcake with a candle, and a cigar to celebrate the Marine Corps' birthday, in addition to the usual food, beverage, and hygiene items. The other 200 packages went to Army personnel who reached out for any assistance we could provide, which we were happy to do. These boxes were identical to the boxes the Marines received, minus the bithday items. Even though we were only able to send 200 boxes to Army personnel, we hope the packages benefit as many of the 2,800 soldiers still stationed in Afghanistan.

In addition to the 600 birthday cards that were sent to Marines in our care packages, we're pleased to announce that we recieved an additional 600 that will be sent to Marines stationed around the United States, as well as to those at Naval Medical Center San Diego (also known as "Balboa") and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. We also received 50 pairs of covert thread socks and letters to be sent from the Ephesians 6:15 Sock Ministry and 12 Boy Scouts completed their Eagle Scout Project and sent us an average of 600 lbs of items each to be included in the packages.

As always, we would like to extend a heartfelt "Thank You" to everyone who made this most recent pack day possible. Without the hard work and generosity of you, the MarineParents family, none of this would be possible, and we truly appreciate all that you do on behalf of our Marines. We look forward to seeing you in 2015!